The Cursed Year
by Doctor Lovegood
Summary: Everyone has their problems, but Sirius always tries to make the best of it. Except maybe sixth year might just be a tad too much... Good thing he has his crazy friends and a horribly indecisive brother to make life somewhat bearable.
1. Prolgue

Sirius Black likes to present himself as a laid back guy. Sure, there are some aspects of his life that induce anxiety, but no one would associate the young Gryffindor with the word scared. When his friends ask how was his summer, he brushes it off; when he sees his brother befriending future dark wizards, he tells James that he is his brother, and he is his home and not some slimy bigot. On the days leading up to a full moon, Sirius eagerly plans where they'll take Moony next, and making impatient comments about how bored he is. He ignores the little voice in his head, that sounds suspiciously like his mother mentioning everything that can go wrong, especially when you get involved with half breeds. He blocks her out and forgets and has the time of his life during those nights. It's nice living that way, for the most part.

He has a solid group of friends, a brother in every sense but blood, pranks and adventures and even some popularity. And until his sixth year, everything was going smoothly, and maybe dare I say it - ideal. However, the circumstances life throws at you aren't always ideal, and can be sometimes downright nasty. And if Sirius thought he had it bad, soon he will be able to appreciate the concept of hell a little more.


	2. The Wait

**Disclaimer:** _ **Harry Potter**_ **belongs to J.K. Rowling, not me. I am not profiting off of this story in any way whatsoever. Now that that's off our backs, enjoy!**

 _Chapter 1 ~ The Wait_

Waking Remus up can be quite the task. The first (and longest) step is to actually make him gain consciousness. A simple "wake-up" will not suffice. A weak _sonorous_ spell might, but a combination of cold water, _levicorpus_ and some Weird Sisters in the background is ideal. Then the easy part comes, which is to run for your life. Which is exactly what James and Sirius are doing, a perfect way to start off the first Friday of sixth year.

"He's gaining!" yelled James.

"We're almost there! Go go-AH!' Sirius exclaims as he dodges a jinx.

"Prongs, Padfoot, I swear I will kill you this time. There is no escaping me," Remus' voice echoes through the hall.

"I see the doors! Breakfast, safety! We can do it Prongs, this is not where we'll make our last stand. We have more to live for!"

"YOU HEAR THAT MOONY, YOU AIN'T GETTING TO ME YOU HEA-"

"OW!" A crash and a shriek fills the hall. Some red hair peeks out from underneath James, and then a freckly hand jabs him in the stomach, causing an ear splitting shriek and violent jerk, making the victim's glasses fall off.

"Potter, WHAT THE BLOODY HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING? Running in the halls like that, and into others! It's too early for this!" Lily is fuming. Luckily, Remus approaches.

"I see you've caught them, thanks Lily but I'll take care of them from here. Oh and sorry for the mess we've caused" Remus says as he comes near the mess. "And besides, I think he's in more pain than you. Prongs, do you have anything to say?"

"Terribly sorry, shame on me," says Sirius over James.

"Oy! Don't you steal my apology, let me take it from here. Terribly sorry, Evans. Shame on me. Wait, don't roll your eyes, I actually mean it!" cries James when he sees her glower.

"Can't you ever grow up, Potter?"

"Fine, let's start over. Ahem. Evans, you have my _sincerest_ apologies. Are you OK? That fall seemed a little violent, I can take you to the hospital wing if you'd like me to." A small smile starts to form on Lily's lips, surprised by how sincere James sounds.

"Yeah Evans, besides now at least you're fully awake!" adds Sirius, however this quip only earns him a glare from her. It's common knowledge that Lily Evans is not in any way a morning person.

"I forgive you Potter… and yes, you too Black. And Remus- hey, don't you look at me like that, you were the one chasing them. Anyway, I think I'm good so I'm just gonna go find Marly. Maybe some advice, Potter and Black? Don't make it your mission to wake up everyone in the entire castle. And don't run into any first years or professors."

"So, since you forgive me and you're now wide awake… will you go out with me?" Lily rolls her eyes.

"It's too early for this. Try again some other time, preferably next week in the afternoon. You've already maxed out your weekly limit, and it's still Friday. Bye." Sirius lets out a bark of laughter.

"Mate, she's got you there! I still can't believe she got you to agree to such a system!" At the end of fifth year, the Marauders approached Lily and properly apologized to her after the whole fiasco with Snape during their OWLs, and reached a sort of truce. With it, came a "game" that Lily made up. Do not ask her out for more than five times per week, or else she has the full right to hex James (and any collateral damage). However, if she snaps before the limit, James can ask her out as many times he wants to for the rest of the week.

"I think it's worth it. It shows that she doesn't completely reject my presence and one day may actually say yes. Plus, it's funny seeing her trying not to yell or hex me," says James. "And oy, Padfoot, I haven't seen you laugh this much since we got back here. You good?"

"Mate, I'm tired. It's only the first week and already they're overdoing it with the NEWT preparation."

"Then come with me to the library to study," says Remus.

"Well, I wouldn't say it's that bad yet," Sirius says, making James laugh, until Remus' glare silences them. He's still not over the whole taking extreme measures to wake him up part.

"Let's just get breakfast, I'm kind of starving, and Wormtail probably has been waiting for us for a while now" says James, being the peacekeeper and moderator of the group, and they start walking towards the Great Hall.

"Hey, maybe she's got a point, you know," starts Remus. "Imagine running into some teacher like that. Or your brother, imagine that. Maybe we should tone it down a little…"

"Well isn't Moony the voice of reason," Sirius continues, "personally I'd be more worried about getting a faceful of Snivelly's greasy hair." This makes the three of them snigger. However, after a few minutes, Sirius talks again.

"Besides, he isn't that bad, Regulus I mean. He's just… confused… probably."

"Is probably really good enough? Mate, the bloke's hanging out with future Azkaban inmates. Just how confused can he be?" Sirius' grey eyes flicker with some emotion.

"Whatever, let's just forget about it," is his standoffish response. The rest of the walk remains in silence, while Sirius replays his last encounter with Regulus on their first night back at Hogwarts. When they reach the Great Hall, they take their seats next to Peter, and you could hear McGonagall scolding some underclassmen about something to do with not putting colour-changing charms on the portraits.

"Hey guys, what took so long?" says Peter.

"Little run in with Evans! Already maxed myself out," James laughs and Peter slaps him on the back.

"Hi Wormatil," Remus greets. It does not go unnoticed that Sirius stays silent.

"Padfoot?" James starts, "You there?"

"What? Oh yeah, sorry, must have zoned out. Hey Wormy," Sirius says and then goes back to being silent. Peter looks slightly confused, but decides it's best not to question. Lately he notices Sirius acting a little distant and acting a little strange whenever his family is brought up, which he assumes is what happened on their way here. No other subject can sober him up as effectively. While it's no secret amongst the Marauders that Sirius ran away last Christmas, it's still a sore topic that best be evaded. Shooting him a concerned look, Sirius responds by stuffing his face with bread and focusing on his plate. He shares a look with James and Remus. While he sometimes considers approaching his friend, Sirius can be quite intimidating when upset. He decides it's best to wait for now.

It's then that the post arrives, owls swooping in. Emmanuel, James' owl delivers two letters, one for James and Sirius each from Mrs. Potter. It's the standard first letter of the year inquiries that most parents send their children. Even after more than half of year of being taken in by the Potters, Sirius is still touched by how quickly they took to accepting him as their own son. It was they who took care of him when he arrived at their doorstep last Christmas, broken both physically and emotionally, and they who didn't let him leave even after he recovered. It's the smaller things however, like receiving letters from Mrs. Potter, that always remind Sirius of just how much the Potters do for him.

Emmanuel also drops a package onto Sirius' lap, and another larger owl drops a second letter to him. He immediately recognizes it as the Black family owl for discreet matters, meaning his friends wouldn't know who is writing to him. He has been expecting this letter ever since his first night back at Hogwarts, when he met with Regulus and was warned of the upcoming situation, and the ultimatum he is to face. Sirius catches Regulus' eye from the Slytherin table and brings his right hand to his nose. A look of recognition crosses Regulus' face and he quickly turns away. He opens the letter from Mrs. Potter first, and saves the other one for a more private setting, despite the overwhelming combination of curiosity and urgency that come with such important matters.

 _Sirius,_

 _How are you? I hope your first week in school was fun, but not too fun. Let's make it your and James' goal to not exceed more detentions than the house points you lose. Which is a very generous limit. Right now it's just me and Nimmy at the manor, since Charlus is in New York doing business. And in my lonely spur, it was brought to my attention that a certain someone's new transfiguration book was left on the kitchen table. Tsk tsk, finishing up your summer homework on the day you leave. Such a procrastinator. You're very lucky I love you, or else I might have refrained from sending your and James' favourite cookies. Of course I'm assuming you and James will stick to that goal I set for you if you want any more._

 _On a more serious note, I have been hearing rumours about unrest in the Black family (more than usual at least). If they are causing you any trouble, or you just want to talk about anything, you can always write to me and Charlus, or talk to James. I want to reiterate to you that you're not alone. Throw away any previous misconceptions from before last Christmas. You are like a son to me and you can tell us anything._

 _Love, Dorea._

Sirius is touched with her words, but even more worried with the implications of _rumours of unrest in the Black family_ going around. Unrest is an understatement. And if other families already have even the vaguest idea of what's going on, this is officially an all out crisis for all sides. But now is not the time to brood and dwell on the matter. That will be done in private. He puts his anxieties in the back of his mind, and resumes his _normal_ daily life.

He opens the package from Mrs. Potter. Indeed, there is his transfiguration book and the cookies for him and the Marauders to share.

"Looks like you forgot something important. Nice job, Padfoot," says Remus.

"Maybe if Prongs didn't insist on one last quidditch game, an hour before we left for the train, there would have been less of a rush. Although it was pretty fun, so no regrets."

"Me? It was your idea! Besides, your fault for saving your work until the last minute."

"So did you!" says Sirius, resulting in laughter from them, and Remus rolling his eyes

"Apparently dad's in New York right now," starts James after settling down. "Doing business with Simon Bones, real estate and fun stuff like that."

"I bet she's enjoying the peace and quiet around the house," replies Remus.

"Probably enjoying a mud bath or something. Or doing yoga. I don't know, something deeply relaxing," says Sirius.

"Who sent you that second letter anyway? I never saw that owl before," asks James.

"My Uncle Alphard. He still likes to check in on me every few months. Make sure I'm alive and not in Azkaban," Sirius casually lies. Not that he doesn't feel guilty.

"Are you gonna read it?" asks Peter.

"I would, but we really need to run to transfiguration, or else Minnie's gonna dock off more points and give us detention. And besides, your mother wants us to have less detentions than the number of house points we lose."

"Don't you always lose points when you get detention?" asks Remus. "I think this is her subtle way of saying that she likes your pranks."

James and Sirius exchange evil grins, and run off laughing to class.

 **Welcome to** _ **The Cursed Year**_ **, My first story published here! In case you don't remember, Uncle Alphard gave Sirius money after he was disowned, resulting in him also being blasted off the family tree. Thank you to my first reviewer! I always appreciate a review and some** _ **constructive**_ **criticism, so that this story could be the best version of itself. And thank you to everyone for reading this!**


	3. The Letter

_Chapter 2~ The Letter_

Transfiguration with the Hufflepuffs was like any other class. Gryffindor had a history of getting along with the Hufflepuffs so the class was quite tolerable. In the far right corner at the back of the room, the Marauder's were in their own world since they quickly transfigured their desks into apples (and back). If Sirius was still bothered by the unopened letter, he wasn't showing any sign of it.

"Can you believe it? Ev-Lily seemed to almost tolerate me today!"

"Good job, mate. What will you name your kids?" Sirius replies.

"Emmanuel. After my owl."

"Just no. I am judging you so hard if you actually do that, Prongs."

After transfiguration was over, Sirius decided to try to slip away from the group. Unfortunately, there was a reason as to why he wasn't sorted into Slytherin.

"You're skipping herbology? Mate, can I come with? I don't think I can handle the new plant." James all but begged.

"You're just worried about getting your hands dirty, you priss. How do you even play Quidditch?"

"Selective vision. So, where are we going?"

"Well, _you're_ going to class."

"So you don't want me to come."

"I just need some time to myself."

"You know, Padfoot, if there's anything bothering you, you can tell us," said Remus.

"Nothing is wrong!" Sirius laughs, "if you really must know, I have plans with a fifth year Ravenclaw, Maria Finnigan. You've heard of her. Do you really want to ruin my date?"

"Can you even call it that?" Peter snorted.

"How do I put it nicely? There's no room for you in the broom closet. Especially you, Wormatil."

The comment made James laugh.

"Sorry Wormtail!" he choked.

"Honestly," Remus began, "you guys don't appreciate Wormtail enough. Right, Pete?"

"I honestly don't care, just go Sirius. You can tell us about it later."

"See you later." He turned around and left, lazily lifting an arm in recognition. The three of them stood in silence for about a minute before James finally spoke up.

"I'm not the only one who's noticing that there's something off about Sirius. right?" Peter and Remus shook their heads.

"You know, it was pretty nice of you to not make a big deal of Sirius' comment, Peter." Remus said.

"I don't mind. I can tell he's super stressed."

"He's been on and off ever since his parents kicked him out last Christmas. But that was fine, it was expected with what happened. Did you know his mom tried to _crucio_ him right before he left? Apparently the curse just barely missed him. He hasn't said much more about that night besides him speaking up at a large family gathering. Ever since the school year started though, he's been acting extra strange. I'm honestly starting to get worried," James said.

"We can't just let him wallow in his misery. Maybe we should do something for him?" Remus suggested.

"Like what?"

"Perhaps we should distract him with a project. Adding more security to the map would be both practical and fun," James pitched.

"That would take his mind off of things…"

As they approached the greenhouse, Peter said "do you really think he skipped class to just hook up?"

"I think he's only giving us part of the truth," said James. "But for now we can trust that he'll come to us when he's ready. Give him space, he always comes around."

As herbology class started, Sirius was in his dorm, reading the letter.

 _As you may have heard, your father is not doing well. His days are numbered and he is not expected to make it past the winter. When we came to Gringotts to make his will, the vault still considered you the heir. What does this mean to you? Despite me me burning you off the tree, the magic still recognizes you as a part of the family, meaning you have a strong connection with a family member whom I have no doubt is Regulus. Besides the obvious issue of you potentially corrupting him with your blood traitor ideals, you are causing unnecessary issues for the House of Black._

 _On the 31st of December at noon, you will show up to Gringotts and formally hand over your rights to the family fortune. If you decide to not cooperate… while I cannot hurt the only heir of the the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black, I certainly have no qualms in making_ you _hurt one of your closest blood traitor friends. Mark my words, if you are not there then there_ will _be consequences._

 _Walburga Black_

'I'm screwed,' was the first thing he thought after reading the letter.

OK, so he's not screwed _yet._ But he will be, if he doesn't act soon. The letter was straightforward, true. If there was one positive attribute to Walburga Black, it's that she's honest. Too honest most of the time, but she is always able to twist it to her advantage. The lying went to her husband, Orion. And he does not want to know what kind of dark magic they will employ against him if he refuses to cooperate. However, right now Sirius has the one piece of information Regulus was not able to provide: the date, the deadline to all this madness. Now he can properly process this situation and start coming up with a plan. Soon enough, he'll let James in on the situation, and maybe even the rest of the Marauders.

However, right now at the top of his priorities is meeting up with Regulus, and tonight preferably. He squeezes the ring on his right index finger, a simple metal band. He and James have the two way mirrors to talk. He and Regulus, however, have something more discreet. It only has one function (besides being quite stylish) - by putting pressure on his ring, Regulus' ring will start squeezing his finger. This code can only mean one thing: Astronomy tower tonight at 1, after all classes there are over.

So until then, Sirius is free. Except maybe he shouldn't keep Maria Finnigan waiting for him. Afterall, he wasn't completely lying to to his friends.

 **I am back! Thanks for sticking around for this long. So much angst in the story already! You may be thinking Peter is a little OOC, but I'd like to think that he had some redeeming qualities if the rest of the Marauders kept him around. At least in the beginning. So, the family drama is starting! I want this fic to be one of those that focus a lot on world building, since the wizarding world is just so vast! Make sure to rate and review!**


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